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Awix (3310 KP) rated The Day of the Triffids in Books

Sep 5, 2019

The Day of the Triffids

John Wyndham | 1951 | Science Fiction/Fantasy

7.6

(8 Ratings)

Book Rating

Famous and highly influential British catastrophe novel. The collapse of global civilisation, after what appears to be an encounter with a comet blinds the majority of the world's population, is made even worse by the existence of sentient, mobile, lethal carnivorous plants, genetically engineered before the disaster. It sounds schlocky written down like that - and most screen adaptations end up that way - but Wyndham's dry, cultured, understated voice means this is a chillingly plausible and deeply affecting depiction of the end of the world.

In some ways this is very much of its time, but in others it is a remarkably prescient book, touching on issues such as the weaponisation of satellites and genetically-modified foodstuffs. It is also a vehicle for Wyndham to explore some of the key issues of his novels - the moral decisions faced by survivors, and the conflict between the individual and the collective. The structure of the plot is somewhat idiosyncratic, and accusations that this is the kind of catastrophe where the really bad stuff just happens to other people may have some weight to them, but this is an immensely readable and thought-provoking book which still feels relevant today.

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Awix (3310 KP) rated The World in Winter in Books

Sep 5, 2019

The World in Winter

John Christopher | 1962 | Dystopia, Science Fiction/Fantasy

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Christopher's tale of the onset of a new ice age and its consequences is told with his usual clarity and strength of characterisation. The sun dims slightly; northern Europe vanishes under ice and snow, and the wealthy and powerful relocate to closer to the equator.

What makes the book a bit problematic for a modern reader is that some of the attitudes in it feel uncomfortably close to outright racism - it almost feels like a cautionary parable about what would happen if the traditional colonial roles were reversed and Africans were in a position of power over Europeans. That the book is a product of the era when the British Empire was dissolving is obvious, and the racial attitudes do impact on the story - protagonist and antagonist form an alliance at the end, despite a long history of bitter conflict between them, simply because they are both white men and the alternative is to allow Africans to dominate the UK. While the book should be considered in the context of its time, it still leaves a very sour taste in the mouth, quite unlike any of the author's other books.